Restarting the clock today...with a cumulative mileage of 16.5 miles
Why the reboot? Well, it's the first time that I started using the IMapMyRun app since going plant strong. Moving to a vegan diet has resulted in a weight loss of around 20 lbs. so far and that's making a huge difference in my running. First off, a 10-minute mile is now well within reach and I feel that I don't have to struggle any more. And perhaps, because, it takes less effort to get to a mile, I can run further than my usual 2-3 miles. For about 2 weeks now, I have been, on each occasion, chalking up 5 miles and ending the runs with energy left to run farther, if I wanted to. This feedback from the body is unusual and unexpected for me because I am not getting any younger with each day.
To see the band of sycophants - Amitabh Bachchan, Pranab Mukherjee, and Lata Mangeskar -- sing the praises of Bal Thackeray is really a low point in the history of Bombay. Bal Thackeray was a hoodlum and a criminal for instigating the riots against innocent dwellers of Bombay and for encouraging violence against non-Maharastrians. He was a self-confessed fan of Hitler and his own actions certainly proved that he was a fascist. Love takes years and generations to take a foothold in the hearts of people -- intolerance can whisk away that feeling with one incident of insensitivity and violence. Thackeray was a low life who held people hostage by exploiting the darkest of their animal instincts. We only hope that with his departure, intelligent people will reflect on the destruction that he wreaked on one of the greatest and most diverse cities of the world, Bombay and say "never again." That thought is regrettably lost on the obsequious Mr. Bachchan.
Two articles that I stumbled into the other day:
Peace...and here's to the turkeys that gave the chopping block a slip on another Turkey Holocaust Day - November 22, 2012.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Runner's Heights:Two Peas in a Podcast
Cumulate mileage: 25.2 (closing in on a cumulative marathon)
Resumed running after nearly five weeks following a bout of a nasty cold and a nagging calf sprain sustained during a racquetball ball. During these last five weeks, I delved into a lot of resources on injury-free running and came to the leitmotif of runner's injury-free mantra, yoga and flexibility. Every time that I read a book on yoga, I discover a new dimension to an ailment that I am having as a runner and this time it was the knee. I discovered that tight hamstrings can cause soreness in the knees. Over the last four weeks or so, I have observed a simple regimen of stretched my tourniquet-tight hamstrings and have obtained a degree of relief in my back and my buttocks. In addition, I have doing some knee and calf stretches and I have stayed injury free so far.
Two shocking and apparently race-related deaths happened in the February-March period of 2012 in two locations in the East and West coasts of the U.S. On Feb. 26, 2012 Trayvon Martin, an African-American, was shot and killed by a community-watch coordinator in Sanford, Florida and Martin's race is considered a factor in the fatal shooting. On March 21, 2012, Shaima Alawadi, a Muslim woman, was beaten to death in her home in El Cajon, California, and the murder apparently left a note, implying that it was a hate crime. Hate crimes are not uncommon in the U.S., a nation that has a chequered history in race relations. But, judging by the groundswell of protests relating to the killing of Trayvon Martin and a much sparser reaction to the Alawadi murder, it seems that their is an agenda-setting within hate crimes.
Martin's death has galvanized the nation and rightfully so. Even President Obama chimed in with his condolences adding to the voices of myriads of senators and public officials who excoriated the crime. But Alawadi's death was news for less than a week and except for some independent news sources, the media seems to have deserted Alawadi's cause. President Obama dare not commiserate with the Alawadi family lest he be labelled a Muslim in an election year. The dominant voice of the nation seems to send a message that the killing of an innocent black man is more important than that of an American Muslim. In a nearly a decade of atrocities against innocent Muslims in the U.S., following the events of 9/11 and the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003, the leaders of the protests who cry and lament the death of Trayvon Martin should also acknowledge, in equal measure, the tragedy that has befallen the Alawadi family due to a hate crime.
Resumed running after nearly five weeks following a bout of a nasty cold and a nagging calf sprain sustained during a racquetball ball. During these last five weeks, I delved into a lot of resources on injury-free running and came to the leitmotif of runner's injury-free mantra, yoga and flexibility. Every time that I read a book on yoga, I discover a new dimension to an ailment that I am having as a runner and this time it was the knee. I discovered that tight hamstrings can cause soreness in the knees. Over the last four weeks or so, I have observed a simple regimen of stretched my tourniquet-tight hamstrings and have obtained a degree of relief in my back and my buttocks. In addition, I have doing some knee and calf stretches and I have stayed injury free so far.
Two shocking and apparently race-related deaths happened in the February-March period of 2012 in two locations in the East and West coasts of the U.S. On Feb. 26, 2012 Trayvon Martin, an African-American, was shot and killed by a community-watch coordinator in Sanford, Florida and Martin's race is considered a factor in the fatal shooting. On March 21, 2012, Shaima Alawadi, a Muslim woman, was beaten to death in her home in El Cajon, California, and the murder apparently left a note, implying that it was a hate crime. Hate crimes are not uncommon in the U.S., a nation that has a chequered history in race relations. But, judging by the groundswell of protests relating to the killing of Trayvon Martin and a much sparser reaction to the Alawadi murder, it seems that their is an agenda-setting within hate crimes.
Martin's death has galvanized the nation and rightfully so. Even President Obama chimed in with his condolences adding to the voices of myriads of senators and public officials who excoriated the crime. But Alawadi's death was news for less than a week and except for some independent news sources, the media seems to have deserted Alawadi's cause. President Obama dare not commiserate with the Alawadi family lest he be labelled a Muslim in an election year. The dominant voice of the nation seems to send a message that the killing of an innocent black man is more important than that of an American Muslim. In a nearly a decade of atrocities against innocent Muslims in the U.S., following the events of 9/11 and the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003, the leaders of the protests who cry and lament the death of Trayvon Martin should also acknowledge, in equal measure, the tragedy that has befallen the Alawadi family due to a hate crime.
Monday, January 02, 2012
Runner's Heights: Death by Brigham Young
Cumulative miles: 22
Running on paved sidewalks has pro's and con's and it behooves middle-aged runners to consider the advantages and the downsides of the surface. The advantages are that it provides a safe surface to run on unencumbered by any moving vehicles. It is also an even surface, by and large, and that is helpful for runners working on their gait and for runners who like to run in low-light conditions. The downside of running on paved sidewalks is that it makes running a high-impact activity with long-term repercussions on the health of the knees. So, your gait, the cushioning of your shoes and the flexibility and strength of your knees becomes even more important factors in your continued running on paved sidewalks. Fore-foot strike might reduce the impact on your knees but it may affect your gait while too much cushioning in a shoe might cause pronators to put excessive strain on the tendons of your feet. In addition, consider increasing your mileage gradually as you work on your strength and flexibility in your legs.
I recently watched the documentary, 8: The Mormon Proposition, about the "secretive and decades-long involvement" of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints (aka, the Mormon Church) in the movement to stop, stall, and prevent gay rights. After viewing the documentary, I was more curious about the activities and philosophies of the church and especially, its leaders, who are deemed by the Mormon church to be prophets that communicate with God directly. These prophets, as it turns out, have publicly made very bigoted and racist comments in the name of God. For example, here's a "law of God," as relayed by one of their most regarded prophets, Brigham Young, on the African race and miscegenation:
"Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so." (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Volume 10, page 110.)
As of this writing, the Church of Latter-Day Saints has yet to apologize to the Africans, African-Americans and the world in general for these racist, hateful, bigoted, and mean-spirited words. For Mormons who consider their prophet's rantings as the genuine word of God, I wonder how they rationalize such egregious statements on race and human equality such as the quote above by Brigham Young.
Running on paved sidewalks has pro's and con's and it behooves middle-aged runners to consider the advantages and the downsides of the surface. The advantages are that it provides a safe surface to run on unencumbered by any moving vehicles. It is also an even surface, by and large, and that is helpful for runners working on their gait and for runners who like to run in low-light conditions. The downside of running on paved sidewalks is that it makes running a high-impact activity with long-term repercussions on the health of the knees. So, your gait, the cushioning of your shoes and the flexibility and strength of your knees becomes even more important factors in your continued running on paved sidewalks. Fore-foot strike might reduce the impact on your knees but it may affect your gait while too much cushioning in a shoe might cause pronators to put excessive strain on the tendons of your feet. In addition, consider increasing your mileage gradually as you work on your strength and flexibility in your legs.
I recently watched the documentary, 8: The Mormon Proposition, about the "secretive and decades-long involvement" of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints (aka, the Mormon Church) in the movement to stop, stall, and prevent gay rights. After viewing the documentary, I was more curious about the activities and philosophies of the church and especially, its leaders, who are deemed by the Mormon church to be prophets that communicate with God directly. These prophets, as it turns out, have publicly made very bigoted and racist comments in the name of God. For example, here's a "law of God," as relayed by one of their most regarded prophets, Brigham Young, on the African race and miscegenation:
"Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so." (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Volume 10, page 110.)
As of this writing, the Church of Latter-Day Saints has yet to apologize to the Africans, African-Americans and the world in general for these racist, hateful, bigoted, and mean-spirited words. For Mormons who consider their prophet's rantings as the genuine word of God, I wonder how they rationalize such egregious statements on race and human equality such as the quote above by Brigham Young.
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